The Way Things Have Been II
by Athena-anjali
Summary: Second story of my "The Way Things Have Been" series, in which the Rogues reflect on different aspects of their lives before they became the criminals Gotham City knows and fears. In this story, Doctor Pamela Isley comes to terms with what she has turned into after a terrible accident, which will change her life forever.


When she first looked at herself in the mirror after the accident, Pamela Isley felt tears rolling down her cheeks, and anger increasing from the very core of her being.

As she removed her now destroyed clothes, Pamela couldn't bare staring at her own reflection in the mirror. She had always been a fairly confident woman. She was well aware of how attractive she was, and she embraced it and used it at her advantage most of the time. She wondered if anyone would have dared to look at her now, if not to make fun of her.

After forcefully drying her tears, Pamela forced herself to look at her reflection to fully see what _he_ had done to her. She didn't recognize the woman that was staring back at her, and she once again felt her green eyes burn.

Pamela's pale, smooth skin had turned some sort of greenish color, and her once ginger hair was now of a much more intense shade of red, it was unnatural. She felt ridiculous.

Everything had happened too fast, she had had no time to react, no time to protect herself from the monster that turned her into nothing more than an experiment. That's what she was for him, she hastily reminded herself. An experiment. Something to challenge himself with.

Pamela finally looked away from the mirror and slowly made her way into the bathroom, and started to fill her bathtub.

She stared at the water as it slowly cascaded down, and then she carefully climbed in the tub, sighing as she felt the warm water come in contact with her now extremely sensitive skin.

She knew that _he_ was no good. She had felt it the very first moment they met, back at the biochemistry lab where Pamela used to work.

She and Doctor Jason Woodrue, despite Pamela's gut feeling, worked exceptionally good as a team, and as the months passed by, Pamela couldn't help but almost feel attracted to him. He was an handsome and charming man, after all, and he treated Pamela with respect.

The attraction, of course, was mutual, and so when Jason had first asked Pamela out, she eagerly accepted, despite she knew that deep down, something was not right.

They worked in the same laboratory for over a year on separate projects, and when Jason finally introduced Pamela to his new research, she was fascinated by what the man had been able to create and discover. He claimed, in fact, to be able to create some sort of human-plant hybrid, capable of communicating with plants, if needed.

Pamela was eager to help; she knew after reading his notes, that whatever Jason had in mind was going to work. It all made sense theorically, from the most basic formulas to the complex ones. Nonetheless, she did not expect things to turn out the way they did.

She did not expect Jason to force her to be his cavy. She did not expect him to test whatever chemical he had developed on her. She did not expect that monster to disfigure her, to turn her into a freak.

Pamela clenched her jaw as she felt her anger increase. She could've stopped him, maybe she could've fought harder, but she didn't. And now she was paying the consequences.

She wondered if she should've just tried to get a grip on herself, dress up and go get checked at the hospital, to at least understand if the chemicals he had injected her with were slowly killing her, or to maybe check if whatever had happened to her skin was somehow reversable, but she did not have the strength.

She felt weak.

After what seemed like hours, Pamela climbed out of the bathtub and quickly wrapped herself in a towel as she headed to her bedroom. She laid down in bed, her mind completely focused on Jason. He had betrayed her trust, just like every other person in her life.

The very first time someone had hurt Pamela so deeply, she was only a teenager: her father had abandoned both her and her mother with no apparent reason at all, leaving them alone when they both needed him the most.

Growing up, Pamela craved a fatherly figure, but she quickly had to adapt, and as her mother's health visibly worsened as the days passed by, she had also been forced to quickly learn how to take care of herself.

Pamela promised herself to never let anyone hurt her like that again, but she had failed at keeping that promise. She had lowered her guard around Jason, she had opened her heart to him and offered him her kindness, her heart and her soul.

She swore to never let that happen again. No one deserved whatever it was that she had to give.

All they deserved was pain.

Pamela eventually shut her eyes, determined to get a decent night's sleep, despite everything that had happened to her just a few hours before. However, something kept bothering her. It was almost like a whisper, as if someone, or _something_ , was trying to desperately communicate with her.

No matter how hard Pamela tried to ignore it, the whisper kept getting stronger and stronger, until she decided to leave her bed and follow the source of the noise that kept her awake.

She was now standing in her kitchen, staring at the little plant she kept on her table. She had completely forgot to water it for days, and Pamela couldn't help but feel guilty about it. She quickly filled a glass with water, and watered the plant.

The whisper suddenly stopped, leaving Pamela in peace.

She hesitantly reached out to the plant and delicately caressed its petals with her now green, smooth fingers, and the whisper begun once time, though, it felt different. It didn't seem as urgent as it was before. It was soothing, almost comforting to hear. It was calming her down.

Pamela headed back to bed, the comforting whisper kept on making her company, and she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

 **A/N** : I finally had the guts to write something about one of my favorite characters ever. Joker is definitely next xD

Hope you enjoyed reading this, and remember,

reviews are appreciated! :)


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